The Ban on the use of Chimpanzees in Biomedical Research and Testing in the UK Should be Made Permanent and Legally Binding

Abstract

A joint submission to the Coalition Government by the BUAV and FRAME The Coalition Government is currently considering how to transpose Directive 2010/63/EU on animal experimentation into UK law. The Directive bans the use of Great Apes in laboratories, but EU Member States can seek (now or, more likely, at some time in the future) a derogation from the Commission to permit such use, where this is considered essential for the preservation of the species in question or in relation to an unexpected outbreak of a life-threatening or debilitating clinical condition in human beings. Currently, the policy of the Government is not to approve any experiments on Great Apes, but it is possible that, at some time in the future, researchers might ask the then Government to seek permission via the derogation clause. The BUAV and FRAME jointly urge the Government to put this issue beyond doubt, by making the ban on experiments on Great Apes permanent and legally binding, as would be permitted by Article 2.1 of the Directive. This would be entirely justifiable on ethical, scientific, logistic and economic grounds, as outlined in the supporting information below. Eliminating the possibility of Great Ape experiments would be accepted, indeed welcomed, by both the scientific and the animal welfare communities.

Anatomy of the Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta): The Essentials for the Biomedical Researcher

“…The manubrium is the first sternebra to which not only the first pair of ribs is connected, but also the bilaterally present (A) Perineum of a female rhesus monkey. This female is presented with a tail stump (1) that is visible just dorsal to the anal opening (2). The large clitoris (3) is present in between the sciatic protuberances (4).…”

“…The large clitoris (3) is present in between the sciatic protuberances (4). (B) This female has an intact tail (1) just dorsal to the anal opening (2). The clitoris (3) is less pronounced but still visible in between the sciatic protuberances (4).…”

“…Left mandibular joint formed between the cranium (1) and the mandibula (2). More specifically, the articulation is present between the fossa mandibularis (3), caudally bordered by the processus styloideus (4), and the processus coronoideus (5).…”

“…1: ren, 2: glandula adrenalis, 3: ureter, 4: vesical urinaria, 5: glandula vesicularis, 6: ductus deferens, 7: plexus pampiniformis, 8: testis, 9: epididymis, 10: tunica vaginalis, 11: penis, 12: prostata, 13: glandula bulbourethralis. B: Larger magnification of the urinary bladder (1) and the accessory genital glands comprising the glandula vesicularis (2) and the prostata (3).…”

“…Both species have common ancestry with genomes that are identical for 93.5% [1]. Only great apes present a larger degree of similarity with humans, but their use in research is very strictly regulated [2].…”